The villagers of Anatevka share their hopes, dreams and changing traditions with audiences when the touring production of “Fiddler on the Roof” comes to Rockville Centre.

“Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as...as a Fiddler on the Roof,” announces Tevye, the humble milkman from the Russian village of Anatevka. And so begins anew that beloved tale of love and laughter, devotion and defiance...and changing traditions.
Fiddler on the Roof, the Tony Award-winning musical that has captured the hearts of people everywhere with its universal appeal, is currently on its North American tour, presented by Prather Entertainment Group. This version follows closely to the original Broadway production; audiences will have an opportunity to see it staged using Jerome Robbins’ original direction and choreography, when it arrives at the Madison Theatre, Wednesday through Friday, April 10-12.
Robert L. Summers, a veteran of regional theater, commands the stage as Tevye. He stepped in December when the actor playing Tevye unexpectedly had to leave the show.
For Summers, it is a role he knows well. This is his third incarnation as Tevye, a character based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem.
A perennial hit since it first opened in 1964 with Zero Mostel, Fiddler on the Roof has enjoyed critical acclaim for bringing to the stage a poignant story about the enduring bonds of the family. Now, the national touring production once again shares Tevye’s wit and wisdom with the show’s many fans and new generations of
theatergoers.
Since January, Summers has been sharing the life of Tevye and his family with audiences, both young and old, and enjoying every minute of it.
“I was 22 years old and in college when I first played Tevye,” Summers said. “I wasn’t married and didn’t have a family. I could kind of understand of him, but when I played him 28 years later in Wichita Kansas, I had lived a lot of life and Tevye took on a different meaning for me. I had spent 12 and half years in the Army by then, had gotten married and had three kids. A lot of things I didn’t understand about him, I’ve gotten to know and that has changed my
interpretation.”